The Sideshow
| The Sideshow | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Ted Robinson |
| Written by | Ian Simmons, Simon Dodd, Dave Bloustien, Bruce Griffiths, Warwick Holt, Mat Blackwell |
| Directed by | Martin Coombes |
| Presented by | Paul McDermott |
| Starring |
Paul McDermott Claire Hooper Flacco The Umbilical Brothers Tripod |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Megan Harding - ABC TV Ted Robinson - GNWTV |
| Producer(s) | Pam Swain |
| Running time | Approximately 57 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC TV |
| Original release | 21 April – 1 December 2007 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Sideshow was a one-hour Australian television comedy/variety series that was broadcast on ABC TV in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus acts, cabaret and burlesque.
The series was created by veteran director-producer Ted Robinson, produced for the ABC by Robinson's GNW company, and hosted by Paul McDermott. It was similar in style to earlier Ted Robinson ABC comedy productions, notably The Big Gig, and the short-lived ABC show The 10:30 Slot, featuring "live-to-tape" performances before a studio audience, pre-recorded inserts and the use of multiple stages. The staging used elements recycled from the set of the former GNW series The Glass House.
The series began as a family-oriented variety show, airing at 7:30 pm on Saturday evenings. After 10 episodes beginning in April 2007, it took a few months off, returning in August at the later time of 9:25 pm allowed the show to move from a PG to an M rating, and to include more adult-oriented humour. Like other shows produced by GNW TV, it had a cult following, and was regularly watched by 300,000 to 400,000 viewers.
Episodes were pre-recorded before a live audience, at Studio 22 at the ABC's Ultimo studios in Sydney on Thursday nights for air on Saturdays. The series was shot in a very loose style and (like The Big Gig) it was typical for cameras and crew members to be seen in a shot. All floor cameras and the two Jimmy Jibs had oversized Christmas lights attached to them, and became part of the staging, rather than something never to be seen.
The Season 1 finale aired on 1 December 2007, and it was not renewed for a second season.
The show opened with a "cold intro" featuring The Threatening Bears, hand puppets manipulated by The Umbilical Brothers. The sketch normally involves one bear hurting the other, or being disgusted by the other's actions. This segued into the opening credits, during which musical director Cameron Bruce (formerly of GUD) and house band "The Bearded Ladies" played the show's theme song. For a short period during the second half of 2007, Clayton Doley stood in as musical director, and the band was known as "The Sideshow Misfits". As well as the opening and closing themes, the house band played walk-on music for guests, riffs between segments, and sometimes accompany guests, musical or otherwise, as they performed.
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